Ruiz goes deep again, helps A’s upend St. Louis
Esteury Ruiz homered for a second time in three games since being recalled from the Aviators as host Oakland beat St. Louis 6-3 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Ruiz drove in two runs, stole a base and scored twice. The 25-year-old has homered twice in seven at-bats since his return Monday from the Aviators.
A crowd of 9,551 attended, with the three-game series totaling 18,355 fans. The Athletics, who have announced plans to play in Sacramento from 2025 to ’27 while a new ballpark is built in Las Vegas, have had an average attendance of 6,244 through 13 home games.
Tyler Nevin added three hits and an RBI as Oakland (8-11) improved to 4-9 at home. Rookie Ivan Herrera drove in two runs for the Cardinals (9-10), who fell to 0-6 in series finales this season.
A’s starter Paul Blackburn (2-0) allowed three runs in 5⅔ innings, ending his scoreless streak at 22⅓ innings. The right-hander came within two outs of the Oakland record for most consecutive scoreless innings to start a season.
■ Royals 4-1, White Sox 2-2: At Chicago, Salvador Perez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the Kansas City eighth in Game 1. UNLV product Erick Fedde (1-0) pitched 5⅔ shutout innings for Chicago in Game 2.
■ Red Sox 2, Guardians 0: At Boston,
Tanner Houck (3-1) pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks, becoming the first Boston hurler to toss a shutout at Fenway Park since 2017.
■ Brewers 1, Padres 0: At Milwaukee, Blake Perkins hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth. San Diego starter Michael King (2-1) had a nohitter through 6⅔ innings.
■ Angels 5, Rays 4: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Anthony Rendon and Taylor Ward each hit an RBI single in the ninth off Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks (0-2).
■ Mets 9, Pirates 1: At New York, Starling Marte hit a go-ahead two-run homer to back Luis Severino (2-1), who allowed one unearned run in six innings.
■ Mariners 5, Reds 1: At Seattle, Bryce Miller (3-1) held Cincinnati to one run in 6⅓ innings and combined with three relievers on a one-hitter.
■ Braves 5, Astros 4: At Houston, Orlando Arcia hit a tying sacrifice fly in Atlanta’s tworun eighth and a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th.
■ Nationals 2, Dodgers 0: At Los Angeles, C.J. Abrams hit a leadoff homer to back Jake Irvin (1-1), who pitched six shutout innings.
■ Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: At Toronto, Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking two-run single with two outs in New York’s four-run ninth.
■ Phillies 7, Rockies 6: At Philadelphia, Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff homer and a two-run shot that put Philadelphia up 7-1.
■ Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 3: At Phoenix, Cody Bellinger’s two hits included a go-ahead homer in the Chicago sixth.
■ Orioles 4, Twins 2: At Baltimore, Cedric Mullins hit a walk-off two-run homer with one out in the ninth.
■ Rangers 5, Tigers 4: At Detroit, pinch hitter Josh Smith had a go-ahead RBI double in the Texas ninth.
■ Giants 3, Marlins 1: At Miami, rookie Keaton Winn (1-3) held Miami to one run in six innings.
PCL
■ Rainiers 8, Aviators 4: At Las Vegas Ballpark, Samad Taylor hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh and a two-run single in the eighth for the Rainiers (13-4) in their third straight win and seventh in eight games. The Aviators (5-11) were outhit 16-6.